heres how to swap the bottom ball joint on your panda, im not covering how to get it off the car in this guide just how to press it in and out without damaging the housing or ball joint as so many people have come upto me at shows saying that they or the local garage have damaged the carrier trying to do this so heres how i do it oh I pressed an old joint out then back in just for the pictures I didnt fit the old one by mistake
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first you need to press the old joint out it, as you can see in the pictures im using a press as its the only way I have found that will not damage the carrier. remove the circlip that holds the joint in its on the bottom side and can be prised out with a small screwdriver next you need an old socket to fit over the threaded part of the joint. then i found a section of steel to slide through the centre hole where the drive shaft normaly goes, on top of this bar i put a small offcut of steel box section slightly bigger than the base off the ball joint to give the joint somewhere to go when its pushed out. IT IS THE BALL JOINT THAT MOVES WHEN YOU ARE PUSHING IT OUT.
give the area where the joint sits a good clean with some sandpaper and cover it with oil to help the new joint slide in.
when pressing the new joint in its THE CARRIER THAT MOVES NOT THE JOINT!. you need a small section of steel tube the same size as the bottom of the new ball joint use the steel bar through the driveshaft hole again with the smaller tube and balljoint sitting on top, you then need a big socket (36mm) to push down on the carrier and push it down onto the joint, its a good idea to remove the rubber boot from the new joint to save it getting damaged.
when you are sure its pushed fully down replace the circlip and rubber if you removed it and thats it job done if you have not got a press or access to one you could always post them to me and ill do it for free for donated members as long as you pay the return postage.
.first you need to press the old joint out it, as you can see in the pictures im using a press as its the only way I have found that will not damage the carrier. remove the circlip that holds the joint in its on the bottom side and can be prised out with a small screwdriver next you need an old socket to fit over the threaded part of the joint. then i found a section of steel to slide through the centre hole where the drive shaft normaly goes, on top of this bar i put a small offcut of steel box section slightly bigger than the base off the ball joint to give the joint somewhere to go when its pushed out. IT IS THE BALL JOINT THAT MOVES WHEN YOU ARE PUSHING IT OUT.
give the area where the joint sits a good clean with some sandpaper and cover it with oil to help the new joint slide in.
when pressing the new joint in its THE CARRIER THAT MOVES NOT THE JOINT!. you need a small section of steel tube the same size as the bottom of the new ball joint use the steel bar through the driveshaft hole again with the smaller tube and balljoint sitting on top, you then need a big socket (36mm) to push down on the carrier and push it down onto the joint, its a good idea to remove the rubber boot from the new joint to save it getting damaged.
when you are sure its pushed fully down replace the circlip and rubber if you removed it and thats it job done
if you have not got a press or access to one you could always post them to me and ill do it for free for donated members as long as you pay the return postage.